A Tale of the Long Dead
by Crystal089
Summary: After feeling depressed about "ruining" all of his former companions' lives, the TARDIS sends a note to River to help her husband. Though, how will River respond to the Doctor's new companion, and vice versa.
1. Chapter 1: The Companions

**A Tale of the Long Dead**

Chapter 1: The Companions

The Doctor and Clara made their way back into the TARDIS, making sure not to touch anything, since their recent adventure with the Raxacoricofallapatorians left them covered in vinegar. "So, Clara, where to next?" The Doctor asked his companion, eager to start on another trip.

Awkwardly trying not to let her arms touch her sides because of how messy she was, Clara stared at the bewildering Time Lord, wondering how he could pilot such a complicated machine, yet miss the obvious that was standing right in front of him. "Actually, Doctor, I'd rather fancy a shower, yeah? I mean, don't get me wrong, fighting monsters is great... I'm just not sure how well I would do that while smelling like a salad." "Oh, right, yes! That's fine, you can just tidy up a bit, then we'll be off!" He gave her his biggest grin, positive that she would be just as excited as he was.

As Clara turned away into the depths of the TARDIS' corridors, towards her room, The Doctor finally noticed that maybe he would do well with a shower, too! Once he flew the TARDIS into the time vortex, he jogged down the stairs, and deeper into the TARDIS to find his room. On his way, he began to be lost in thought; thinking back on what Clara could possibly be. He had met her twice before, and she died BOTH times. She could be a Teselecta, but that hardly seemed probable. No, he had scanned her, she was completely human. Perfectly normal! Yet feisty and stubborn at times. Ooh, yes, he did like that about her. And she was the same each time he met her. Though, if he had saved her before, would this 21st century Clara be alive now? The first time, it wasn't his fault, she was already a Dalek, and he was running out of time. He couldn't do anything...right? But in Victorian London... He wasn't paying attention... He was boasting about how wonderful her life with him in the TARDIS would be. He could've saved her! He could've saved all of his companions.

As he pondered on how their lives could've been without him, he noticed that either he strayed WAY of course from his room, or the TARDIS was messing with him, leading him towards his old companions' archived rooms. He ended up in a vast, circular area; all of the walls were completely white. One of the gray doors had a red glowing 'EXIT' sign, which he decide was the rest of the TARDIS, and every other gray door had its own name. A name of either the long dead or the long forgotten. But to him, they were never forgotten, not really. The doors seemed endless, labeled from Susan Foreman, all the way up to Amy and Rory Pond. He closed his eyes tight as he dared not to think of what happened to his beloved Ponds. What tragedy occurred at his hands right after he promised Brian that he'd take care of them.

As he slowly opened his eyes, looking for the exit he had seen before, he noticed that it became harder to see, as if there was a film blocking his vision. He felt something fall onto his cheek, lifting his hand up to his face, he brushed away the tear: he had been crying. His breathing became a bit heavier as he saw the rooms of those he loved the most: Susan Foreman... Rose... He saw Martha's door next. 'You turned her into a soldier' Donna had told him. He hated fighting, yet made her his warrior. ...Donna. She'd never remember. At least with all of the strange stories she'd missed before, she was able to hear about. She would never even be able to know of him.

Then he saw another door.

One he'd rather not translate.

The name was written in the language of The Forest.

He'd had enough. Almost everyday, for the past few weeks, he would go into states of depression, thinking back on his friends, but this time, he was done. He was leaving. Off to take a shower, then make his way to the Console room, where Clara would be waiting for him. Though once he turned around, and was about to touch the red, circular button on the side of the gray door that would let him exit, he heard the sound of air escaping from a door sliding open from behind him. He was prepared to reach for his sonic screwdriver, instantly developing a plan, without moving an inch, on what to do with the intruder that had somehow gotten into his blue box. Yet, before he could reach for his sonic, putting his plan into action, he heard a voice.

"Hello Sweetie"

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	2. Chapter 2: Meet the Mrs

Chapter 2: Meet the Mrs.

_Oh, he was always so dramatic,_ River thought. _At least he relaxed at the sound of her voice, yet he didn't turn around._ It worried her. "Doctor?"

"Get. Out."

She didn't know how to respond. Frankly, she had thought that he would be relieved that she was here. The TARDIS had told her that he had been brooding over his past companions again, so River escaped Stormcage as quickly as she could. Yet, there was something about his demeanor towards her that...frightened her. She decided to not respond, but to slowly step forward. However, she was barely able to take a step towards her husband before he reacted to her intentions.

"I said," The Doctor proclaimed a bit louder, slowly turning around to face her in a way that made her feel uneasy; he walked up to her so that they were inches apart. "Leave." he said, barely above a whisper, but his voice was gruff and dark. It reminded her of how he would talk to the Daleks or Madame Kovarian. What could make him talk to her with such toned down fury? "What's happened, Sweetie?" She inquired with as much concern as she could muster. She had to make him realize that she was on his side. "What's wrong?"

"Where are you?" He asked as he bore his eyes into hers. He wasn't in the mood to be played with by a River that was already dead and gone. He had been seeing her just _pop up_ every once in a while with her curly brown hair and gleaming green dress. It had been difficult to continue his happy-go-lucky facade for Clara while almost every other thing he said was commented on by a "what once was" of his wife, ghosting around him. Granted, she wasn't wearing the same green dress; she had on the gray one she wore in Florida. "I'm right here, Sweetie. Oh, but you mean where am I in our timeline, well the last thing we did was-" She was reaching for her diary, but was cut off by him pulling her into a hug, which was extraordinarily loving for The Doctor; his head burying into her hair.

"Early." The Doctor said slowly pulling back after awhile. "At least... Earlier than I thought you were." He said with the first genuine smile he had given in weeks. "Is that a bad thing?" River wondered, beginning to worry that she may not be good enough for him right now. Not that she was insecure, but that she wanted to be able to help... And maybe she would be a bit disappointed if she wasn't good enough, but she'd never even admit that to herself. "Oh, no, no, no! AH, well...spoilers." The Doctor had begun to worry that he had upset her, but he could tell she was alright (At least, he hoped so.) He just had to make sure that he caught himself before revealing anything about her future.

"So...been keeping out of trouble, I hope." The Doctor flirted, lightening the mood. He was finally completely comfortable with the whole back-and-forth banter he had with his wife. "Ah, well...that would be no fun at all, would it?" "I'll take that as a no, then?" The Doctor asked with a smirk. "You can if you like." "Oh, I do." The Doctor said in a lower voice, stepping a bit closer to her. "What are you covered in, Dear? …With all of that vinegar on you, you'll probably fly the TARDIS into salad bar before you even touch the console." River teased. "Ha! And you call yourself the child of the TARDIS, when apparently, according to you, I can fly her without even touching the controls!" He retorted. "It wasn't a compliment, Sweetie. At this point, all you're succeeding in is making me very hungry." She said with a sly grin. He began to trace his hands up and down her shoulder, while beginning to become a bit more serious. "Oh, River... I have missed you." He said as he gazed into her eyes. "And I you, My Love." River responded as The Doctor began to lean in, River closing the distance between them.

DWDWDW

The Doctor had been acting so strange the past few weeks. He had been taking her on such extraordinary adventures, lately. Not that The Doctor's adventures weren't always fantastic, but he had been extra careful to make sure that she was delighted with every detail of every one of their trips, as if he thought she'd be turned off by the slightest displeasure. Then, the TARDIS wasn't at all helping her to find out what was wrong with him. If Clara didn't know any better, she'd say that the TARDIS was making sure that she couldn't help The Doctor! Which, actually, made absolutely no sense to her, since she was sure that the TARDIS loved The Doctor just as much as she...

Clara had thought about it before: Her relationship with The Doctor. It hardly seemed possible, seeing as he wasn't even human, but sometimes they'd look into each other's eyes after an adventure, and she'd just KNOW that he felt something. She began to fix her fresh new clothes she had just put on, from taking a shower, in the mirror. Setting out to find The Doctor and confront him about his feelings, she began to walk towards the Console room. Of course, she'd be VERY gentle about how she'd bring up the subject, so she decided that she'd start by asking him if he was alright, and if anything had been bothering him. There had to be a reason for how he kept doting on her, whether he was smitten with her or not, he knew that she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

As she arrived in the Console room, she found no trace of a bow tie wearing Time Lord, yet she did find a trace of vinegar leading into the depths of the TARDIS. As she followed the trail, she found, after several minutes, that it ended at a door at the end of a corridor. As she pressed the red door seal button, she found The Doctor inside, just... standing there. He was sort of shifting from side to side at times, but not much. "Doctor?" She called his name, but he didn't seem to respond. She wasn't even sure that he could hear her. _He must feel terribly forlorn,_ Clara thought. She slowly began to enter the wide, circular, white room. As she neared him, she noticed that there was someone else there, too. _But why is he or she so close to him? Oh, girl hands. So it's a her! Why are_ _her hands wrapped around his neck?_ She wondered. _Maybe the Doctor's_ _in trouble!_ Clara deduced. She turned to see the side of him, and noticed that he had his hands around her waist and was... _Oh my gosh!_ She thought. _He's snogging her! _"Doctor!" She yelled, a bit agitated. The Doctor instantly broke off the kiss with the mystery woman and pushed her about a few inches away from him - _So apparently he wanted the woman near him,_ Clara thought with a twinge of sadness.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Um, h-hello...Clara. ...Well... Um this," he gestured towards River, "Is, umm... Well, she's my... Um, she's-" "Professor River Song," River said, shaking Clara's hand, "Archaeologist." "Um, yes! Right, yes! This is River Song. My wife." He stumbled along. "Your what?!" Clara demanded. The Doctor wasn't sure how Clara wanted him to respond this time, so he resulted in showing her: lacing his fingers through River's.

As River leaned her head on The Doctor's shoulder, she noticed that Clara seemed to be glaring at her, yet once River looked back at Clara she turned away. _That's odd,_ River thought. _The companions I've_ _met, that were sure they were in love with The Doctor, always seemed to_ _tease him about me, not give me death glares. Even my mum, who_ _proceeded to attempt sexual advances on The Doctor after I had left, had_ _been okay with the thought of me being the Doctor's wife. Which, actually,_ _is a bit unsettling to think about,_ she thought. _Of course, it made sense for them to have a bit of animosity towards her, it just...never happened. Oh well, _she thought, _first time for everything._

**"That was awful!" "I LOVED this!" "I mean.. it was alright." "I HAVE A REALLY GOOD IDEA, if you want to hear it."**

**I want to hear ALL of your ideas and everthing you thought of my writing! There's enough of you out there to take the time to review... so how about, if there aren't at least TWO reviews on each chapter... I won't post another chapter -_- COMMENTS! REVIEWS! FEEDBACK!**


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